Kosmos

Very cool: Swimming in the icy north

Jetting down to the warm south for a swim in the sea is what everyone does. Swimming in the icy north is at least as much fun!

I want to be a polar bear!

Frost, snow, ice floes? No need to cancel the swimming trip. Thousands of Americans take part in wintry polar bear plunges – and even pay for the ordeal! All of the money goes to charity.

Plunging for faith

Carve out a cross-shaped pool in the ice, climb in, and duck underwater three times. Russian Orthodox Christians practice this ritual on January 19, the Feast of the Epiphany. Tens of thousands take the dip in Moscow alone, often at double-digit temperatures below zero.

A chat and a swim

People in Iceland are lucky – their hot springs provide warm water all year round. In winter the heitur pottur bathing spots turn into social hotspots, places to meet up with friends or even listen to readings or concerts.

Asian jewel

Hidden away in the inner courtyard of the Tortue Hotel in Hamburg, Germany, you’ll find the Jin Gui restaurant. Here, guests indulge in pan-Asian delicacies in a space designed by the prize-winning London design studio Joyce Wang.

(Almost) good enough to eat

Whether its cinammon swirls, seafood or a bag of French fries, everything Kate Jenkins makes looks delicous but is actually made of wool. The British artist, who’s “addicted” to knitting and crocheting, as she says, combines skill and humor to put together her mouthwatering masterpieces. Jenkins shows her work in galleries but also takes orders for individual items.

Floating on air

Remember Tetris, the classic 1980s computer game? It inspired the Bulgarian photographer and graphic designer Mariyan Atanasov to create a photo series showing sections of buildings in Sofia, his country’s capital, floating in space as if they were about to fall into place like the pieces of an architectural puzzle.

Warts and all

In Phaya Thaen Public Park, about an hour’s flight from Bangkok, Phraya Khan Khak (The Toad King) towers above the Chi River. The statue represents the amphibian spirit that is said to forecast rain. Inside the giant toad there’s a museum on toads and Thai mythology.